Janvier's Legacy: A 19th Century French Gold Locket

This exquisite French gold chain and locket, a creation of the renowned Janvier from the late 19th Century, represents a harmonious blend of Late-Victorian and Belle Époque styles. Embellished with four rose cut diamonds and senailles, it features a captivating depiction of a woman's head amidst cherries, a symbol of delicate beauty and allure. The locket, masterfully crafted in 18K yellow gold, is a testament to Janvier's skill in encapsulating the era's shift towards more refined and romantic designs. It serves not only as a piece of jewellery but also as an artistic representation of the fusion of two distinct historical periods.

Antique jewelry object group
locket and necklace

Condition
very good condition
more info on our condition scale

Country of origin
France

Style
something between the Late-Victorian and Belle Epoque style - Victorian decorative arts refers to the style of decorative arts during the Victorian era. The Victorian era is known for its eclectic revival and interpretation of historic styles and the introduction of cross-cultural influences from the middle east and Asia in furniture, fittings, and Interior decoration.

Victorian design is widely viewed as having indulged in a regrettable excess of ornament.
And the Belle Époque style (Belle Époque is French for "Beautiful Era") was a period in European social history that began during the late 19th century and lasted until World War I. Occurring during the time of the French Third Republic and the German Empire, the "Belle Époque" was named in retrospect, when it began to be considered a "golden age" the major powers of Europe, new technologies improved lives and the commercial arts adapted Renaissance and eighteenth-century styles to modern forms. In the newly rich United States, emerging from the Panic of 1873, the comparable epoch was dubbed the Gilded Age. In the United Kingdom, this epoch overlaps the end of what is called the Victorian Era there and the period named the Edwardian Era.
See also: late-Victorian
more info on styles

Style specifics
The Late or Aesthetic Victorian Period - Experts divide the reign of Queen Victoria, also called The Victorian era (1837-1901) into three periods of about twenty years each; The Romantic Victorian Period (1837 - 1860), The Grand Victorian Period (1860 - 1880), and the Late or Aesthetic Victorian Period (1880 - 1901).

We consider this to be of The Late or Aesthetic Victorian Period.

Jewelry of this period is changing back from heavy to more smaller, romantic pieces with often whimsical motifs. Jewelers using diamonds and bright gemstones in elaborated and fine feminine pieces.

Period
ca. 1890
Events & facts of this era, poetry of this era, fashion of this era.

Theme
woman's head surrounded by cherries

Material
18K yellow gold (touchstone tested)
more info on precious metals

Diamonds
Four rose cut diamonds and senailles . A senaille is a simplified rose cut diamond, a small diamond chip with perhaps a few polished facets. We do not have the weight of the rose cuts diamonds nor the senailles which is normal in our trade when it comes to rose cut diamonds and senailles.

All diamonds we offer are screened by the I.J.G.C. for whether they are natural or synthetic, and all diamonds in this jewel are 100% guaranteed to be natural.

Birthstones
Diamond is the birthstone (or month stone) for April.
more info on birthstones

Signature
Janvier (French maker specialized in this type of reliefs in the late 19th Century)

Hallmarks
No trace.
more info on hallmarks

Dimensions
width locket 2,98 cm (1,17 inch), length necklace 42,00 cm (16,54 inch)
see picture with a ruler in millimeters and inches

Weight
14,70 gram (9,45 dwt)

Adin Reference Nº
21322-0018

Copyright photography
Adin, fine antique jewellery

Additional information
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